How a clear mission can spur purposeSeptember 20, 2017You and your team members may feel like hamsters on a wheel, constantly spinning, with no vision beyond the daily routine. I imagine you are satisfied with providing daily care to patients, because that’s what we do as veterinary professionals.
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Many happy returnsSeptember 19, 2017The task of determining the best return on investment (ROI) on veterinary clinic equipment isn’t easy. Myriad variables enter into purchasing decisions, including cost and tax savings from depreciation; whether to pay cash or finance; operating costs, maintenance, and service plans; personnel costs to operate the equipment; staff training; projected frequency of use; and client charge structure.
Clients on the criminal docket: The Lakeville lettersSeptember 18, 2017As a practice owner, you surely have encountered difficult clients. Some are argumentative, some are irrational, and some, you suspect, are downright crazy. While we all have client horror stories to share, the nightmare endured by Southfork Animal Hospital in Lakeville, Minn., may be hard to top.
AHS urges best practices to prevent, minimize heartworm transmission in dogsSeptember 14, 2017By Veterinary Practice News Editors The American Heartworm Society (AHS) has announced a new set of veterinary best practices for minimizing heartworm transmission in dogs relocated due to recent natural disasters, a cross-country family move, or other circumstances. The guidelines include recommendations for heartworm testing, treatment, and prevention, and were developed in collaboration with the Association of Shelter Veterinarians (ASV). "Preventing transmission of D. immitis has always been a focus of the AHS Heartworm Guidelines," sais Chris Rehm, DVM, AHS president. "However, we believe we need to do more, given the potential for heartworm-positive dogs to serve as reservoirs for infection. For example, if a microfilaria-positive dog is rescued in one state and subsequently moved to a new home in another state where nearby pets are unprotected, mosquitoes feeding on the new dog can quickly become heartworm vectors. The results can be disastrous for unprotected pets in the vicinity." Measures can be taken to protect the health of both infected animals and their new neighbors, according to Dr. Rehm. While the ideal scenario is to treat infected dogs before transporting or traveling with them, situations often dictate that infected animals cannot undergo …
Time Inc. latest corporation to reap pet, veterinary industry rewardsSeptember 12, 2017The lure of the lucrative pet products industry is hard to resist—even for a content king like Time Inc., which is launching PetHero, a paid membership program that leverages a network of veterinarians that belong to Pet Assure pet owners' club. Time Inc. claims it engages with more than 100 million pet owners and pet lovers through its pet-related content platforms. With the pet products and services industry surpassing $66 billion in 2016 and expected to exceed $70 billion by 2020, according to the American Pet Products Association, it comes as little surprise that the media giant is looking to take greater advantage of what this sector offers. How the PetHero program works PetHero membership plans begin at $20 per month for one-pet households and $25 for multipet households. After purchasing a plan, PetHero members receive a 25 percent discount on in-house veterinary services from more than 5,600 participating veterinary practices, a 15 percent discount on all products purchased through PetCareRx.com, seasonal gift boxes with pet toys and treats, and expert veterinary advice. The discounts on health care costs apply to all pets regardless …
Could your practice use a CWO?September 11, 2017Until recently, there were: The CEO, or chief executive officer; The CFO, or chief financial officer; The CIO, or chief information officer; The CTO, or chief technology officer; And a few others (CSO, CCO, and CKO anybody*?) I recently heard of the CWO, aka Chief WOW Officer, aka Director of WOW, as Nido Qubein calls it. The businessman and motivational speaker is currently the President of High Point University, an amazing private liberal arts university in High Point, North Carolina. Of course, there is a CWO at High Point. His job is to identify the un-WOW on campus, and turn it into WOW to improve the students' experience. Here are a few of the services provided. Each one honors an important value: • There is an ice cream truck on campus, and a bubble-gum machine at the entrance of the Dean's door (value: generosity). • Students can have a free car wash on week-ends to forget the dust caused by an extensive construction project (value: respect for others' property). • Valet parking for students after 9 pm (value: safety). • Live music at the cafeteria (value: rock 'n' roll forever?). Similar creative …
Follow the 8 secret ingredients to successSeptember 8, 2017In an extremely popular TED talk, Richard St. John, a former marketing and communication expert turned speaker, and author in Toronto, shared his secrets to reaching sustained success.
How call tracking barks up business for veterinariansSeptember 8, 2017There's no denying that veterinarians are dedicated to their craft. Animal care is complex and leaves little time for marketing—after all, a veterinarian belongs in the field, not at a desk. Regardless of the difficulties of veterinary work, owners will accept nothing less than the best for their pets. Ninety percent of pet owners regard their pets as family and have the same health care experience expectations as they would for a child or spouse. Confusing or inconsistent advertising can dissuade pet owners from a choosing a veterinarian—there's no kidding around with animal health. Some veterinarians are prioritizing better companion care through partnership with third-party providers. While outsourcing the business side of a practice alleviates major marketing responsibilities, as well as other routine tasks like accounting and human resources, it does not solve the entire problem for vets. If these campaigns are still based on gut decisions rather than data, there's little opportunity for vets to improve their marketing efforts over time. Call-tracking and analytics solutions remove the guesswork from attribution, even between online and offline efforts. As vets begin to understand which marketing channels are actually driving leads, they can adapt their advertising …
American Association of Feline Practitioners revises declawing positionSeptember 7, 2017The American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) has revised its previous 2015 position statement on declawing to strongly oppose onychectomy as an elective procedure.
Diabetes PetCare Alliance program terms expandedSeptember 7, 2017For four years running, Merck Animal Health, Purina, and Zoetis have partnered via the Diabetes PetCare Alliance to help veterinary practices diagnose new canine and feline diabetes cases and jump-start disease management. Now, the collective has lifted the previous enrollment cap of 1,000 clinics, meaning there's no limit to the number of veterinary practices that can enroll in the annual educational program, and the program enrollment period has been extended from one month to two. Veterinarians participating in the program, which is timed to prepare veterinary practices for Pet Diabetes Month in November, diagnosed an estimated 300 pets with diabetes in 2016. Veterinarians who enroll gain access to tools and resources related to diabetes awareness and screening. In addition, clients whose pets are diagnosed during the program period receive a free disease management kit from participating clinics. The kits include the following: One AlphaTRAK 2 Blood Glucose Monitoring System from Zoetis One 6-pound bag of Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets DM Dietetic Management Feline Formula for cats or Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets EN Gastroenteric Fiber Balance Dry Formula for dogs One 10 mL vial of Vetsulin …
